According to usnews.com, a controversial roughing the passer call prior to halftime of the Las Vegas Raiders’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs for Monday Night Football brought yet another blow to the NFL and its officiating crew. The Chiefs had just scored to bring their deficit down to 17-7 when Chris Jones stripped Derek Carr from behind as he made the tackle. The defensive back landed on Carr as he made the play, coming up with the ball. Replays show that the ball was clearly loose and that Jones had recovered it, however, referee Carl Cheffers threw a flag calling for roughing the passer. The play occurred with less than two minutes remaining in the half and was not reviewed.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid stormed towards the sideline in order to argue with every official that he could. After the teams ended up trading field goals, making the score 20-10 at halftime, Reid cornered Cheffers as they headed off the field to the locker room. When players once again emerged from the locker room for the second half, Kansas City fans booed more loudly at Cheffers then at the Raiders themselves.
The call came only one day after Atlanta defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was flagged by referee Jerome Boger for a tackle of Tampa Bay quarterback, Tom Brady. The penalty ended up giving the Buccaneers a first down and allowed them to run out the clock for a 21-15 victory, rather then the Falcons having a chance with the football for a win. Boger told a reporter after the game that, “What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground, That is what I was making my decision based upon.”
The NFL has been rightly criticized for their inconsistent calls with their failure to protect quarterbacks as well. With Quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa was taken off of the field on a stretcher after a violent hit against Cincinnati. Tua sustained a concussion when his head was slammed into the turf by the Bengals’ josh Tupou, who had no flag called on him on the play.
In the NFL rulebook, it states: “Any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play will be called as fouls.” The rulebook also notes: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the quarterback, the referee should always call roughing the passer.”
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